Family Reunion
by Gamergirl87
Summary: Karen gets lost in the woods and can't find her way back. Learn what happens to her and who she meets along the way.


### Family Reunion

  
**Disclaimer:**I do not own Harvest Moon or anything related to it.  
**Author's Note:**This one is cool and in the perspective of Karen. It is not your usual farming fanfic or romance let me tell you! Please leave reviews!  
  


I woke up one early morning, and it was raining. I didn't want to go outside, but I had to. I had to help my dad pack up some groceries he had to send to another town. I put on a rain poncho and walked outside.  
"Hey there Karen!" said Jack, a new farming boy that I had a small crush on.  
"Um...Hi Jack! How are you?" I asked.  
"I'm great! I just love the rain, it means I don't have to water my crops!" he exclaimed.  
"Oh sounds great! I have to help my dad pack up some groceries that he's sending to another town." I said.  
"Sounds fun, could you use any help? I'm really bored and there's nothing to do!" he asked.  
"Yeah that'd be great! I'd really like the company!" I said, blushing a little bit.  


We got to work. It was pouring rain by the time we finished, but it had only taken us 2 hours.  
"Thank you so much Jack! I really appreciated the help you gave!" I said.  
"Oh no problem! Hey Karen, are you busy this afternoon?" he asked.  
My heart skipped a beat, "No I'm not busy! Why?" I could feel my face turning bright red!  
"Well, do you want to go on for a walk on the mountain? It's so beautiful looking off of the summit on rainy days." He told me.  
"It does sound beautiful. Well yes I'd love to go! Now?" I asked.  
"If you want to!" He said, as he took my hand in his.  


He dragged me down the street, and I came to my sensed in time to wave by to my dad, and tell him I'd be back in an hour or two. Then I just stared at Jack, as he dragged me past his farm towards the mountain. He seemed so excited, which got me excited too.  
"Well, we're here!" he said, pointing towards the summit.  
"Oh, it is gorgeous!" I exclaimed, running towards the edge to look out.  


I felt myself slip on a wet rock, and landed on my back. I was so embarassed, but then I started sliding.  
"JACK! Jack help me! I'm falling!" I screamed, trying to grab hold of something.  
"Karen! Karen grab onto something!" He yelled back, rushing towards me.  


I felt the ground sink beneath my feet, then my legs, then my back. I was almost all the way off the edge of the mountain, when I felt a hand grab my arm.  
"Karen, hold on to my hand, I know it's slippery but you have to!" Yelled Jack, as he struggled to keep his balance.  
"Oh Jack, I'm so scared!" I cried, seeing my life flash before my eyes.  


I struggled to keep hold of his arm, as I grasped it with my hand. It was no use, it was too rainy and wet and I couldn't get a hold of him. I felt my hand slip off, and I felt a shock from the sudden free fall I had commenced into. I screamed at the top of my lungs.  
"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" was all I could get out.  
"Karen, noooooo," he cried, hanging over the edge of the mountain with his arms stretched out.  


I awoke in a different place. I had never been to this area, and was unfamiliar with it. I got up, and felt a banging in my head and back. I turned around and saw blood. I let out a cry, then heard a growl. I looked up to see 3 wolves circling me. I knew what would happen. I was to be eaten alive by them. I heard a crac, and sprang up. I got up to see a man with a whip, chasing the wolves away. I walked up to him, and tapped him on the shoulder.  
"Excuse me, Mr... Thank you.." I said timidly.  
"Thank you, eh? Very much thank you I saved your life twice it is now! Twice!" he shouted. He had a gravely voice, and sounded very wild.  
"Sir, did you find me on the ground?" I asked.  
"Yes I did. You were sprawled over there on that flat rock, lucky that the trees broke your fall, lucky you are! You would've been dead if they hadn't. But I, I cleaned your wounds and patched them up, and I scared them wolves away." The man explained.  
"Th-Thank you sir.." I said meekly.  
"Now let's get one thing straight, my name is not Sir, or Mr., it's Anthony, you got that?" He said in a harsh voice.  
"Y-Y-Yes si...I mean Anthony." I replied.  
"And there's no reason to be afraid. I havn't got an intention to hurt ya, or else I would've done it already, ya hear?" He said, in a commanding voice.  


A few days passed, and I stayed with Anthony. It turned out he had falling from the same mountain peak I had a 30 years ago, and had nursed himself up and made a home. He had a small cottage made of wood, and lived a quiet life. He lived off the land, and had no contact with other people until I showed up. He agreed to let me stay, until I was well enough to go searching for a way back to my home. He told me he had tried looking for a route, but the wolves had always blocked him off, so he was forced to stay in the forest. One day, I felt much better and recovered.  
"Anthony, I believe I am ready to start my journey back to my home." I declared.  
"Ahh you are, are ya? Lemme take a look at there-say wounds you got on your back." He said, turning me around and unbuttoning the back of my shirt.  
"O-Ouch!" I screamed, as he touched my back.  
"Ah yes, as I thought. Not healed very much at all. You still have one very infected wound, but the other is pretty much recovered. You got over the fever you had, but you still need a few days, even a few weeks at most to recover enough." He said.  
I felt sorrow in my heart, I had looked so much toward the day I would be allowed to leave. "But Anthony, I feel ready, I can make the journey!" I said, begging him.  
"No you can't, you wouldn't last one day out in them woods, no you wouldn't. The wolves would eat ya up before you walked a mile." He said.  
"A, A mile you say? It can't be that far! I fell straight down, there must be an easier route to make it back to the village!" I shouted at hime.  
"Village you say? You never said nothing about no village. Would this village be, Mineral Village?" He asked.  
"Well yes it would, my home of course!" I snapped back.  
"Don't take that tone with me, who kept ya here, mended you up and protected you? Now let me tell you a story... It was 40 years ago. I had lived in the great booming city, but had no real life there. I decided to move to a quieter, more simple town. I crossed the sea on a primitive boat, and came to Mineral Village. I loved my life there, and I had a wife, and a daughter. One day, when my daughter was 10, we went for a walk up on the mountain. She loved that mountain with her whole heart. Anyways, we went up that same mountain you were on, and we went to that same summit you did. She dared me to go to the edge and peer over, and to impress the youngin' I did. But I leaned farther and farther as she giggled and clapped her hands, applauding me, and I went too far. I fell down, never to see my daughter or wife again. I tried for several years to get back, but them wolves wouldn't hear none of it!" He said, drinking a cup of water.  
"Anthony, what was your daughter's name, may I ask?" I asked, very curious.  
"Why, it's been so many years, but that's one thing of my life I've never forgotten. Why, her name was...Sasha." he said, with much love in his words.  
"S-Sasha you say? Why that's just not possible! Sasha is my mother!" I screamed, enraged he would lie.  
"Why...she is? Does she have, does she have shining brown hair, and gorgeous brown eyes?" he asked, very anxious.  
"Y, Yes she does. But how dare you speak of her! She is not your daughter! Her mother and her father were well known in the business world! Not dirty and low!" I screamed.  
"You say I am dirty and low? Look, you have your grandmother's beautiful blonde hair...you are your mother's daughter, I see the likeness! Come, embrace me like a grandfather!" he said, with much depth in his voice.  


I didn't know what to do, I knew deep in my heart that it was true, but I didn't want to believe it. I did the only thing... I hugged him, and we cried for a few hours! I got him caught up on our lives, what we were doing for a living, how my social life was, and other things. Then I came up with a plan after making a remarkable discovery. I had descovered a large, flowing river. My grandfather Anthony had known about a pond, but he didn't know one of the small streams flowing out of it would turn into a large river! I constructed a large raft, on which we placed many goods such as food, clothing, blankets and other tools.   


One early morning in the Fall(I had been gone 2 whole months), we decided to depart. With no wolves to stop us, we assumed we were home free! We climbed onto the raft, and got our paddles. We began to paddle down the river, making good time and distance. It was easy!  


After 1 day, we had gone an aproximate 10 miles, and according to Anthony, we still had 5 more. We were becoming so anxious to see home, that we almost dropped our paddles on numerous occasions while trembling from excitement. We had only one more mile to go soon, and we almost there, when the river stopped. We hit a small dam, and looked up at the river banks. There, a pack of large wolves were awaiting us, a feast they thought. We shook with fear, not having anywhere to go, and being cornered. Every once in a while, a brave wolf would attempt to jump at us, but my Grandfather would scare them off. This went on for 2 whole days, meanwhile we were running short on food supplies. There were only a handful of wolves left, but even that was too much for us. I got out a rope I had brought, in case one had fallen off, and looked up. There, I saw a huge branch hanging down, with large thick branches coming off it. I threw the rope up a few times, finally getting it over. It didn't fall down on the other side like I'd thought it would, so I attached a rock to it then threw it up again. This time the rope looped around the branch, and got caught on a stick. My grandfather motioned for me to climb up, and I did. When I made it up, I carefully crawled to the trunk, and stood on a thick branch, waiting for Anthony. He let go of the whip, and jumped up onto the rope, just narrowly escaping from a wolf's attack. He climbed up, and met me at the trunk. We waited there, occasionally throwing fruits from the tree at the wolves, until they had all gone.  


We waited a day, to make sure the wolves had gone, then climbed down. We made a mad dash to the open fields we saw, and when we got there, we saw a road. We ran down to it, and continued running on it. Soon, we reached a familiar landmark.  
"Home!" I screamed, running to the beach.  
"Home..." Anthony whispered.  


I saw my mother Sasha run up, and I hugged her and we cried. After a few minutes, I introduced her to my new...friend.  
"Mom, this is Anthony! He helped me in the forest." I told her proudly.  
"Hello Anthony, how can we ever repay you for your kindness and help to your daughter," she said, tears in her eyes.  
"Well, you can let your father have a hug!" he said, crying silently.  
"Father?" Sasha said, bursting into tears. "I never thought I'd see you again! Oh I am so happy!"  
"So am I, Sasha, so am I..."  
  



End file.
